An Anti-Hindu Rant In the Senate? July 12, 2007

Obviously I’m uncompromisingly monotheistic. I recognize the supremacy and primacy of the Torah, and of G-d. The Torah is very unwavering, no form of alien worship of any other powers is allowed.

But, on the other hand, we do, after all live in America, a country with freedom of religious expression.

So then, what in the hell is this?

From The Hill.com:

Protesters interrupt first ever Senate prayer by HinduFor the first time in its history, the Senate Thursday opened a session with a prayer by a Hindu. Protesters interrupted the proceedings on two separate occasions and were arrested.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) invited Rajan Zed from the Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada in Reno.

Before Zed could begin speaking, protesters attempted to drown out his speech. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), who presided over the Senate at the time, had to ask the Sergeant at Arms to restore order before Zed could commence, and once again during his speech after another protester shouted, citing the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before you.” The guest chaplain appeared rattled by the cries, but remained composed and continued his prayer.

Zed chanted from Sanskrit holy texts, including portions of the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita. He prayed, additionally, for the senators to serve wisely and selflessly. Zed concluded with a prayer to comfort the family of former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, who died Wednesday.

The opening prayer is normally given by the Senate chaplain, Barry C. Black, a Seventh-Day Adventist, but senators are permitted to invite guest chaplains from their home state.

The Senate Chaplain’s office confirmed that Zed was the first Hindu in history to lead the Senate’s opening prayer. In 2000, Venkatachalpathi Samuldrala performed the first Hindu opening prayers for the House of Representatives.

Do these protesters NOT want freedom of religious expression for all citizens? And this is not going on in a vacuum: From Harvard Professors to Pat Robertson, various people have gone on anti-Hindu tirades in public. Pat Robertson called Hinduism “demonic” and Jeffrey Long, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, said that “though it is less well-known in this country, anti-Hindu bigotry is every bit as ugly and dangerous as anti-Semitism or racism.” Vinay Vallabh of the Executive Council of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) noted that websites promoting religious hatred and intolerance towards Hindus and Hinduism are proliferating, and in the HAF’s report, noted:

According to statistics provided in the report, “demonic” and “satanic” are the terms most commonly used today to describe Hinduism by numerous anti-Hindu websites easily accessible on the Internet. “The proliferation of websites promoting religious hatred is an unfortunate consequence of the universality of access to the internet,” said Vinay Vallabh, lead author of the report, and member of the Foundation’s Executive Council.“We must vigorously identify, condemn and counter those who use the Internet to espouse chauvinism and bigotry over the principles of pluralism and tolerance.”

Are we going to see a rise in Hinduphobia, too? What, we don’t have enough prejudices rampant in America?